Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Really? Its an either/or proposition? I have news for you...some of us can be highly effective in our careers, our volunteer efforts, our family lives and amazingly keep a clean, attractive and well maintained home. As long as one is lucky enough to have employment and health, its not that difficult to do.
The level of defensiveness on this thread really makes me wonder how most C-D responders live.
And even have time to worry about what other people are doing with their own property! Amazing!
Your fixation on meaningless cosmetic improvement is telling. Sure, a roof needs to be repaired or replaced ASAP, but paint lasts a lot longer than 4 years and plants are not a permanent part of a home.
You must be buying awfully cheap paint if you think a paint job can't last more than "several years". I've lived in my house for 13 years, and have painted the rooms exactly once. Why? Because the paint still looks good. Why? Because I did a good job, used quality paint, and I wash my freakin' walls every fall.
Good gravy ...
I dunno ... Why aren't some people willing to mind their own business.
Maybe she thought the green paint wasn't sad at all, and perhaps she considered the fixtures retro.
That's the cool thing about home decor - we're all free to do what we please.
Exactly! I furnish my house to my taste, and no one else's.
Hm. I live in a brick house with white vinyl trim. I found an online picture of the house on our county's website from about 20 years ago and ... damn! Except for a tree in the side yard and the landscaping in the front garden, the house looks Exactly. The. Same.
I was told 13 years ago that my 10-year-old water heater was at the end of its useful life. I have no doubt that it is at the end of its useful life, but it must have an awfully good pedigree. LOL
Amen to that.
Experience has shown me that a home that has been maintained in close to its original condition is a lot easier to live in and maintain than a house that's been remuddled to death.
Don't you just love it when people start a thread, find out that others disagree with them, and then the original poster disparages the intelligence and/or mental health of the people who disagree with the OP?
Yeah, me neither.
Didn't your mama teach you that every human being has a different definition of "healthy and happy"?
Don't wonder. Just mind your own business.
LMAO. I'll ask my neighbors if the wilting geraniums on my porch are having "implications". How inconsiderate of me. I've been meaning to replace them with mums, but for Christ's sake it's been raining for three weeks. But that shouldn't matter, since I don't want to be an inconsiderate neighbor or anything.
Oh, and if you don't like the responses you're getting on this thread, perhaps you should take that into consideration the next time you want to start yet another thread to complain how the world isn't treating you the way you think it should.
D'ya know what's depressing? People who can't mind their own business, and/or people who project their own insecurities onto others.
Brava! Nailed it!
Just last week, I accompanied a friend to look for a "new" house. She is downsizing.
We saw two kitchens, with sturdy and serviceable kitchens that were in good shape. Both kitchen were probably 30 years old, so they were "from the 1980s". The homes were older than that, so they were replacement cabs and counters.
Both kitchens were large with a great deal of storage space. Kitchen one, had oak Both had center islands and peninsulas. They really were great kitchens - but they would most likely horrify the OP and many people who are regular watchers of HGTV.
The first kitchen had clean, functional and sturdy golden oak cabinets with brass and percaline pulls. The counter was a grey blue Corian and the double sink was white. The appliances had already been changed out for stainless. The floor was latex covered oak hardwood. It was cheerful, and adequate.
Really the kitchen was flawless. The only thing my friend decided to change was the country motif wall paper boarder, the country blue paint and the brass drawer pulls.
It would really be horribly wasteful and self indulgent to rip out this kitchen. There is nothing wrong with it.
The next house had cherry cabinets high end, and mauve laminate counter tops. The appliances are older and yellow. They layout is very nice and the kitchen is sunny. The walls are white and the ceiling fan is a bit too ornate. If she goes with that house, she is also not going to demolish the kitchen.
\The dusty pink laminate counters will go, as will the white, older appliances, which look cheap and are "builders grade". She intends to paint the kitchen and replace the countertops with marble, and install a new lighting fixture. The white appliances will be donated to Habitat for Humanity.
As far as the outside - the first was pale blue vinyl with white trim. She wants to change the white to cranberry, to make it less pastel.
The other house has Dutch lap white vinyl siding with brown trim. She doesn't like the brown, but siding is fine she's like to change the brown to navy blue. I agree with her plans. Why be wasteful? Everything is perfectly functional.
She has no intention of pulling out the sledgehammer.
Like was already mentioned some people look at a house as just somewhere to hang their hat. They are not interested in remodeling, updating, etc. My grandparents were exactly like that. The way a house was when they bought it is the way it stayed until they sold it. As long as it was functional that was good enough for them. They also had the mentality "if it ain't broke don't fix it". My late husband was the same way. I want my home to look nice and clean but I'm not worrying about the fact that the kitchen needs cosmetic updates. When I bought it I put the money into important things like a new roof, plumbing, painting, etc. The cosmetic stuff is going to have to have to wait a few years. By then there will be a new "must have" for our houses.
We have HGTV to thank for this obsession with updating every few years.
Last edited by chiluvr1228; 09-29-2018 at 08:37 AM..
Remodeling and renovation can cost a lot of money. There's a question between vanity and what needs upgrading due to functionality issues. In my opinion, I would rather someone invest money into making sure the roof is good, the HVAC is working as it should, and if it's well water, that the well has been serviced. I mean, yeah, I'd love for the kitchen to look 2018, the bathrooms to look luxurious, and the bedrooms to look nice and cozy. Chances are, things that the previous owner did are probably things I'm going to wind up changing to fit my personality more.
My parents were extremely frugal placing value on function over form.
That said... the they did buy... they bought quality... Dad was a stickler for the best roof with no short cuts... do it once and do it right...
When everyone was putting in tile counters Dad said I grew up with tile... the Formica stays... those that put in Tile then ripped it out and put in Corian then ripped it out for Granite... Mom still has her Formica...
Floors... lino was replaced around the neighborhood with lots of tile which got replaced with laminate flooring...
Windows upgraded to double pane and then again because the early versions didn't quite pan out of the Bronze with Grids looked so dated.
I'm all for a person spending to their hearts content...
Just remember vanity fades quickly.
20 years ago I did an extensive remodel to a 1948 Ranch Style home my brother bought... we basically took it down to the studs... insulation windows, stain grade wood used through out... When it sold 4 years ago it set a new price for the neighborhood... the Realtors that came through all said the stain grade should be painted white!!!!
I said over my dead body... paint is fine for particle board... but never for stain grade.
Home had multiple offers... sold for over 100k over and set the record price... the buyer said they wanted an honest home... stain grade trim and doors... so tired of everything painted white or shades of grey...
Remodeling and renovation can cost a lot of money. There's a question between vanity and what needs upgrading due to functionality issues. In my opinion, I would rather someone invest money into making sure the roof is good, the HVAC is working as it should, and if it's well water, that the well has been serviced. I mean, yeah, I'd love for the kitchen to look 2018, the bathrooms to look luxurious, and the bedrooms to look nice and cozy. Chances are, things that the previous owner did are probably things I'm going to wind up changing to fit my personality more.
I have attended numerous Open Houses this summer, and a recent house I saw had a significantly upgraded kitchen, one that certainly wows those who see it. However, when I opened what appeared to be a closet door, I saw an old, original furnace and the cover on it was rusted through. Ugh.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
